Study on observation of tongue patterns in young adults.

Introduction: The tongue is a unique organ in the oral cavity with unique patterns on its surface. Apart from speech & deglutition, it can be used for individual identification. Materials and Method: Photographs were taken from 20 young individuals. Alginate impressions of the tongue were obtained and a positive cast replica was made to evaluate the shape, size, number and type of fissures and presence of papillation on the surface of the tongue. The study aimed to observe the variations and uniqueness in tongue patterns among the young individuals. Results: Differences in the tongue patterns with different combinations of the size, shape, papillation & fissures in each individual were observed and were found to be unique. Conclusion: The tongue impression can be a useful tool in the identification of an individual because of its uniqueness.